" ... if anybody actually comes up with something that's actually anonymous and actually uncensorable, it will be shut down, by whatever means necessary, by the government ..."
This is correct.
However, the building blocks of circumvention technologies (et. al) and the building blocks of basic consumer Internet services and communications channels are indistinguishable.
You can't preemptively disable secure, covert communications and also provide rich, secure Internet services (such as banking, corporate email, etc.)
"You do not need covert communications for things like banking or corporate email. You only need a safe way to perform authentication."
Agreed. However, the building blocks of that authentication (and other security protocols involved) are the same building blocks used for covert communications.
This is correct.
However, the building blocks of circumvention technologies (et. al) and the building blocks of basic consumer Internet services and communications channels are indistinguishable.
You can't preemptively disable secure, covert communications and also provide rich, secure Internet services (such as banking, corporate email, etc.)
It is very much "Free Speech or Stone Age".[1]
[1] https://blog.kozubik.com/john_kozubik/2009/06/free-speech-or...